Beginning Hydroponics: Soilless Gardening: A Beginner's Guide to Growing Vegetables, House Plants, Flowers, and Herbs Without Soil

This book is a wonderfully put togther all incompasing book on the subject of Hydroponics I tressure it.

If you want to understand the very basics of hydroponics, this may be the one. This is a no frills book. Author's purpose is to introduce you to hydroponics, nutrients, various methods in practice and get you started with your first plant. He has succeeded in that. After reading this book, you will know enough to be dangerous, for sure :) I will definitely recommend this book.

Hydroponics... presents an open and honest introduction to the subject of growing plants without soil, covering its long history (especially before it was called 'hydroponics' and before Western Europeans happened upon it), the basic principles underlying hydroponics and the more common methods of the field from the simple to the complex. It also includes a chapter on troubleshooting, provides copious resources in the form of a book list for further reading and suppliers to hydroponic growers (from backyard gardeners to commercial growers), and is an all-around accessible text for both beginning non-gardeners and to gardeners of all ability ranges. It also lays out the need for and benefits derived from hydroponics without embellishment, and presents just a small amount of the technology's practical applications and tremendous (and proven) potential.However, based on this text alone, the reader has no real idea just how big the field of soil-less gardening has become. For example, a sizable amount of commercial tomato production in the United States is done hydroponically, and virtually all of the fresh lettuce in Japan is produced this way. Additionally, the technology has proven itself to be commercially viable for the production of a variety of specialty crops. After reading this book, I could easily think of five or six spin-offs for potential research.Probably the best endorsement for the power and capability of this applied technology is the fact that more research is done in hydroponics by commercial growers and big multinationals than is done by (and this is in the United States context) both universities and the USDA. As an aside, although not originally intended as an application, more than a few enterprising individuals have co-opted its utilization, and advanced its development in order to cultivate, produce and distribute cannabis!This in turn may or may not explain the reticence of the United States government, through the USDA, to fund research into improved hydroponic methods. However, a more reasonable possibility may be that the technology is first a proven concept and second is very highly developed. Still, there is considerable room for creative thinking, improvement, improvisation and innovation, as many an enterprising law-breaker has demonstrated.On the other hand, foreign governments in arid regions of the world, such as Israel, the greater Middle East and the North African region, have invested heavily in hydroponics research as a means to simultaneously produce food for domestic requirements and to conserve scarce water resources. Israel in particular is very aggressive in its attempts to use hydroponics as a basis for export-led agricultural production.Considering how long this book has been on the market (some 27 years), and how bad the situation in the world is with regard to hunger and food insecurity, and environmental degradation, I have to wonder aloud why environmental types like Lester Brown, Helen Cald

Good growing information but lacks details. Not a complete guide but worth the price for sure. I got a few good ideas from this one, making it a worthy purchase. Another book for learning the most up to date hydroponic methods is my favorite, "Secrets to a Successful Greenhouse and Business".

After finishing the first skim through, I was intrigued enough to go out and buy a growing unit. I ordered the one and planted the seeds they included. Then I reread the book again so I knew what to watch for and what to do. It was amazing! Here in California in the middle of winter and el nino and almost freezing temperatures the seeds sprouted in 11 days...outside on our patio. I highly recommend hydroponic gardening to everyone!!!